1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cutters for machiine tools, and more particularly to reconstruction of gear shaping and shaving cutters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One method of cutting teeth to make a gear is by installing a suitable blank in a gear shaping machine. One brand of such machines is Fellows. A Fellows gear shaper has a cutter which looks similar to a gear and rotates slowly as it reciprocates against a metal blank which also rotates slowly, whereby the cutter cuts teeth on the blank. For some gears, where additional quality of finish and dimension is needed, a shaving cutter can be installed in a machine to shave the teeth previously produced by a gear cutter.
It happens too frequently that one or more teeth or tooth portions of a cutter are damaged or broken out completely from the cutter. Efforts have been made to replace such teeth but, because of the impact of the cutting action, and the precision required, results heretofore have been unsatisfactory, particularly with gear cutters. The result is that, when damaged, the practice has been to discard them. A new gear cutter can cost $400 or more, depending on size, so the prospect of discarding a cutter with one or more broken teeth, is not a bright one, particularly if it is a relatively new cutter.
It is an object of the present invention to salvage broken gear shaping tools and provide a method of doing so at a reasonable cost for a precision reliable salvaged cutter.